We asked him
what he deemed the most important information to be obtained by a tyro
in the business. He answered promptly: 'To know the names and
characters of all the "fences" within a circle of thirty miles.' He
could do little or nothing without this knowledge.
In the rural districts, these receivers of stolen goods are quite
unknown, except among the thieves themselves, unless some unusually
active deputy sheriff makes the discovery; but in the cities,
especially in New York and Brooklyn, they are as well known to the
police officers as the city halls of those places. These officers are
sure that everything they have in their warehouses is stolen; they are
acquainted with their ways of doing business; and they know what
thieves resort to each, and where they dispose of their ill-gotten
property. Yet this knowledge avails but little in promoting the ends of
justice. It is but rarely that any of this class are convicted of their
offences. The reason is that strict legal proof of their guilt can very
seldom be procured.
The study of the means of rapidly and effectually removing the marks
by which the property in their hands can be identified, is the main
business of their lives, and they acquire a degree of skill and
dexterity in altering or effacing these marks, which is truly
surprising. A melting-pot is always over the fire, to which all silver
ware is consigned the instant it is received.
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